right now on news channel 8 at 6:00. good evening, everyone.

i'm melanie michael. >> i'm rod carter. thanks so much for joining us tonight. tonight sarah palin back on the campaign trail for donald trump right in the bay area. palin's reemergence comes at a time when trump is being blasted for violence at his rallies. a rally in chicago friday night canceled due to violence and many arrests have been made at others. chip osowski is live tonight at the florida strawberry festival where pay hundred just wrapped up. you -- palin just wrapped up. you don't really expect a campaign rally to wrap up at the strawberry festival, chip. >> reporter: there was no organized rally, no speech. palin simply came here, shook some people's hands, posed for some pictures and spoke with people about why she believes they should vote for donald trump. mobbed by trump supporters, former governor and vice presidential candidate sarah palin made her way into the florida strawberry festival.

and, of course, strawberry shortcake. i caught up with her outside and she treated me as if we were old friends. >> hi. how are you? nice to see you. >> reporter: she spoke for pictures and talked about why she's putting her political weight behind donald trump. >> oh, so thankful that we have a person in such a position to bust up the status quo because that's what's got to go. all these guys have been part of the problem all these years and finally we have an outsider who is so independent not bought and sold by anyone, owned by anyone. finally we have the right guy to take these guys on. >> reporter: quite the polar opposite to former presidential candidate mitt romney who recently threw his political weight against the donald. >> the time came when donald trump's outrage had reached such a level that i simply had to speak out. you get to the point where you say your grandkids are going to say to you, " papa, what did

speak. >> reporter: donald trump has fired up. >> i think it's awesome. it shows he is present in florida and i hope he's win. >> reporter: as far as donald trump, he's scheduled to make a campaign stop tomorrow in downtown tampa in the afternoon at tampa convention center. >> chip osowski reporting live for us, thank you very much for that live report. continuing our live team coverage tonight new poll numbers out show trump with a big lead here in florida. the nbc news wall street poll shows trump with a 42% advantage and according to the poll rubio is only one ahead of texas senator ted cruz for third place. senator rubio is campaigning as the only candidate who can beat donald trump in florida's tuesday primary of rubio held events

orlando today. dangerous. >> he has turned the most important election in a generation into a circus, into and carnival. this country deserves better. up here. this is really going to do damage to america. >> 90% of the time i'm telling the police take it easy, don't hurt them. just take it easy, don't hurt them and, you know, it's one of those things, but we aren't professor vocking it. >> meanwhile on the democratic -- provoking it. >> meanwhile on the democratic side clinton leads bernie sanders by 27 points, 61%-34%. you can vote early tomorrow. florida's primary is tuesday. if you have any questions or need to know anything, we've posted what you need to know on www.wfla.com. now to the tragic death of a hillsboro county deputy tonight, in recent years --

tonight in, recent years 57 wrong-way crashes happened here in the area. the latest happened in brandon john kotfila. here are the signs and signals to try to prevent drivers from going the wrong direction in that part of town. >> reporter: we may never know old erik mcbeth's mind when he decided to drive west in the eastbound lanes of the selmon expressway. what we do know is that all the traffic signals were up and running alerting drivers that those lanes were closed. flashing lights, neon barricades driving along town center boulevard in brandon, it would have been very hard, almost impossible not to notice that the selmon expressway ramp is closed to westbound traffic just like it was early saturday morning. despite those measures authorities say mcbeth could have driven up this exit ramp. we reversed this video of our drive in to show you the

possible path mcbeth took before colliding with deputy kotfila's patrol car head on. >> it could have been his car, could have been anyone else's car. >> reporter: in the dark of night it's possible the deputy didn't spot the wrong-way driver until it was too late just west of i-75. with all the warning signs and signals up and running at the time of the crash what else can be done to stop this wrong-way problem? >> the million dollar question is how do we prevent it and it may be time to say we need to have stop sticks going the wrong way. it's preventible. it's avoidable, you know. so we have to -- we have to review what we can do because it's an epidemic. >> reporter: authorities did receive a 911 call alerting them of the wrong-way driver and that tape is expected to be released on monday. now investigators aren't concluding that this crash was

alcohol related, but most wrong- way crashes are. reporting in hillsborough county i'm mary mcguire, news channel 8. >> results of toxicology tests won't be available for another few weeks. many people are sharing their condolences with the family of deputy kotfila and you can as well. comment on the posts on our wfla facebook page. tampa bay place released joseph ragsdale in connection with a fatal hit and run accident at 30th avenue and 50th street north. police tell us ragsdale was driving a pickup truck when he struck a bicyclist. that man has not been identified. a seffner woman was struck and killed by an suv in hillsborough county. cynthia mcmillan ran across parsons avenue south and right into the path of a jeep cherokee. she was wearing black clothing and the driver did not see her at the time. mcmillan was struck and died at the scene. deputies tell us alcohol is suspected in mcmillan's breath. the driver is cooperating.

the largo police department is asking for the public's help identifying a woman whose body was found this morning near 145th street north and star board lane. the woman is described as a white female 20 to 50 years old, reddish blonde hair, a butterfly tattoo lower right shoulder and one tattoo on her left bicep. anyone is asked to call the police department if you have any information in this case. got to give you a heads up. come monday your commute along one of the busiest roadways in hillsborough county will be a complete nightmare. u.s. 41 will be closed so the florida department of transportation can work on the railroad crossing near crenshaw lake road in lutes. delays and detours along the six-lane roadway could take twice as long and that has residents very angry. >> that impact with that traffic on those roads, there's kids, vehicles, safety, police, all those, the delay in time is going to hurt someone.

around this work zone using florida avenue, beers avenue and dale mabry highway. u.s. 41 should be closed about two weeks depending on the weather, of course. hulk hogan's $100 million sex tape trial continues tomorrow morning for a second week. gawker will begin presenting its witnesses then. friday experts testified about the value of this tape. an expert for hogan claimed the video brought gawker its highest number of views ever and brought value to the company because of it. meanwhile hogan says the trial has been more than difficult and it's been wrestling andre giant in the ring also making history. if you have not been anywhere close to down down st. petersburg this weekend, you've heard the -- if you have been, i should say, you've heard the race cars buzzing around. >> the grand prix of st. petersburg is a favorite for many fans. >> plus tragedy strikes in two countries today as terrorists attack, the latest breaking

details straight ahead. >> it's been 17 days since we've had rain in tampa bay, not a rain drop, but today we have some showers. we'll have a look at your radar

this is a letter from someone who's here. she has to take a brand name drug. been taking it since the early 1980's. at that time it cost approximately $180 for 10 shots. the latest refill was $14.700 for the same 10 vials and the company is called valeant pharmaceuticals. i'm going after them. this is predatory pricing and we're going to make sure it is stopped.

breaking news in the country of turkey tonight, a large explosion killing dozens of people is called a terror attack. a car bomb exploded in the capital near a transit hub, 125 injured and at least four are dead. in the ivory coast at lease 16 people are dead after a gunman -- at least 16 people are dead after a gunman stormed a beach resort that's a popular tourist area. the state department says no americans are known to be dead or injured, but a witness said four europeans were killed. six terrorists also died.

coming up we'll have a look at your workweek forecast with bryan bennett. >> also a look at downtown tampa tonight and the after party you can catch this evening. there's still time. >> we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching news channel 8, the station that's always on

the big weekend of racing in the tampa bay area concluded today with the firestone grand prix of st. petersburg. [ cars racing ] >> yeah, pretty loud around the track today. people packed behind the barriers of the 1.8-mile waterfront track to get a close-

seeing and hearing the cars speed by created quite a rush for the race fans. >> it makes you have a sense of adrenaline flowing, not only for the racers, but the atmosphere and to think everybody comes from all over alone. it just gives you goosebumps. >> we'll have the highlights later a little bit later in sports. crowds are parking downtown tampa today. performances started at 11:30 this morning. music fans also on hand at channelside park for the festival music performances were set up and here's a little taste from this afternoon. check it out. [ music ]

the last performance tonight at curtis hixon park is taking place at 7:00. the guys are on stage right now. the performer and festival is stephen marley. the after party gets underway in about 45 minutes, so there is still time to get to channelside bay plaza. to celebrate the upcoming fifth anniversary legoland in florida is planning the largest expansion in history. five announcements about the legoland resort in winter haven tuesday. the fifth anniversary of legoland is coming up in october. here's a live view now from crystal river, a few little raindrops falling from the sky. i almost have forgotten what that looks like. it's been a long time since we've seen rain here in the tampa bay area. this evening a few spotty showers, best chance i-4 and north, pretty warm, temperatures remaining in the lower 70s throughout your evening. we have a few showers passing

what's interesting about this entire weather picture is this high pressure off our coast. it's been parked there for about two weeks now and that's been assisting us with the warm air coming from the south and also keeping us dry, keeping low pressure out to our west stalled in parts of louisiana and texas. over the last 17 days we have picked up 0.00 inches of rain at tampa international airport. the last time we had a 17 day dry stretch was two years ago, december of 2013, so we are due for a bit of rain, but this high pressure so massive it is over 3,000 miles wide stretching all the way to the coast of africa. that's why it's been so resilient keeping the rain out, but what's different today? that high pressure finally decided to weaken a little bit and start to move back out into the atlantic ocean and away from florida allowing some of those showers that were back in louisiana, mississippi and

texas to start to move in, but not very much. it's very weakened. citrus, hernandez hern unanimous -- hernando seeing a few sprinkles of rain. hillsborough and polk are relatively dry and dry areas south. mainly the rain is north of i-4 where it will pretty much remain for the north part, bradenton and st. petersburg and areas north of lakeland have the better chance of seeing rain throughout the evening. these showers gradually dissolve throughout the evening and the overnight hours. tomorrow morning we could see a few little light showers right along i-4 from bradenton and tampa. tomorrow afternoon partly to mostly cloudy, a 10% chance for an afternoon sprinkle or little shower, high around 80 degrees.

heading into tuesday we start off with a little sea fog. by afternoon tuesday will be dry. it's going to look good, lot of sunshine and warm, high 81. overnight tonight partly to mostly cloudy, showers north of i-4 continuing to dissolve. so i know a lot of us are perhaps wanting a little rain for the grass. you might get a couple little showers passing through but not a lot and the better chance being i-4 and north which perhaps is good news for the gasparilla music festival and strawberry festival as well. tomorrow afternoon partly cloudy skies, 20% chance for a shower, kind of breezy, warm, high of 80 degrees. tuesday and wednesday we start off with a bit of morning sea fog. right now st. patty's day looks pretty good, friday a 20% chance of a shower and then showers and storms moving in next weekend and that cold front next weekend will bring us some frigid temperatures in the middle 70s.

possibly have highs back in the 60s. so winter is not completely out of here, but it's checked. >> thank you very much, appreciate it. coming up an exciting final round of the valspar championship. could a local amateur beat a field of pros? >> plus the lightning snap their losing streak by blasting the blue jackets, highlights coming your way next in sports. >> plus tomorrow at 6 a.m. >> reporter: a new coffee shop recently opened up in ybor city that offers a lot more than just coffee. >> plus weather and traffic on the 8's on news channel 8

(phone ringing) you can't deal with something, by ignoring it. but that's how some presidential candidates seem to be dealing with social security. americans work hard, and pay into it. so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) (donkey noise) hey candidates, answer the call already. it was the best of times.

it was the worst of times. no, i'm not quoting charles dickens. i'm trying to describe the last week for the tampa bay lightning. the bolts' franchise record winning streak was snapped monday and they haven't won since. the lightning looking to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat against the blue jackets this afternoon. good time to call on your captain, steven stamkos, his 30th goal of the year, still 1- 0 in the 3rd. columbus defenseman would like a redo. he pays for the turnover and doubles the deficit. later cbj on the power play. don't tell the lightning. andre palat feeds stammer for his second of the day and they weren't done. a little later another shorthanded break. stamkos returns the favor to palat. these guys got nothing but love. the lightning snap their losing streak way 4-0 shutout of the blue jackets. the buccaneers resigned safety chris conte to a one

the 27-year-old played 14 games last season making 79 tackles and two interceptions. he is the third unrestricted bucs. meanwhile in palm harbor the rays played a pair of split squad games today. tampa bay lost to toronto 6-1 in dunedin. charlotte. the rays wrecked the red sox. meanwhile in palm harbor the final round of the valspar champion ship bill haas entered atom the leaderboard but plenty were nipping at his heels. mccoy sticks the birdie on 12 and finished 4-under. spieth at the clubhouse at even par. charles schwartzel entered five shots behind haas and makes up ground with a 64 food bird on 13. schwartz -- foot bird on 13.

round of the day, a 4-under 67, good for 7-under underall. bill haas misses a par putt on 16 falling back to 7-under, but he played even golf on 17 and 18 forcing a sudden death playoff with schwartzel who put his first shot in the fairway. haas' tee shot does not land in the fairway. he would bogey the hole. schwartzel sets himself up for an easy tap-in birdie. schwartzel recovers from five strokes back to win a playoff over bill haas. drivers, start your engines! >> the firestone grand prix of st. petersburg, heading into turn four nearly half the field gets congested trying to cut the corner.

i-4 at 5:00. after the ensuing green flag juan pablo montoya took the lead and never looks back. his second straight win in st. petersburg for the season, champ. million times before. i'm just tying to get over. >> you feel like you have to run into somebody to do it. >> and then juan pablo montoya time.

it will be hard to top one florida couple's baby ginger announcement. i give them an a for effort and creative. adam warren approached the orlando eye with the idea of lighting the wheel to reveal the gender of their new baby. he had a friend pass on the results from the doctor to the wheel's lighting technician and check it out. at least night's reveal the color is blue. he and his wife amanda are having a baby boy, family and friends were there to celebrate the big reveal. i'm not really sure how you can

top, that really creative. >> is that free and open to the public to do? >> absolutely not. don't even think about it. how is the weather looking tonight? >> spotty showers, will dissolve overnight, brighter tomorrow. >> thank you very much. nbc nightly news is next. >> see you back at 11:00. thanks for joining us! they are talented, they are fun, and they come from everywhere across this country and all around the world. have your friends said anything to you about this? one of my friends. how many friends you got? more than...10. so the other nine is haters. [ laughter ] whoo-hoo, oh, good, good, good you won't believe what these kids can do, and you probably won't believe what they gonna say. where are your balls? okay.